"A rhyme book is something that to an MC is very personal, it
can hold anything. You never know, you could turn the page and go
from a summer day to…Armageddon. I thought 'Rhyme Book' is a
good indication of what the album is. It's something personal; it's
my heart and soul on the line".
Forget an album bio. Four years in the making, Scribe has just presented
it in the form of his sophomore album, opening up the pages of his
much guarded rhyme book to reveal the gift and the curse that came
with the phenomenal success of 'The Crusader' and to mark out his
next moves.
When the smoke cleared on an album that ate up territories on both
sides of the Tasman and set the stage for bigger conquests, Scribe
retreated from the glare of media attention to his Christchurch home.
There he raised his newborn baby daughter and isolated himself in
a one window basement with a pad and a pen and a pile of beat tapes
sourced from New Zealand to New York.
Scribe wasn't filling the pages of a stack of exercise books because
he had a record company hungry for a second album but because he had
a world of new experiences under his belt and a fan base onboard that
has come to expect total access, from the thoughts in his head to
the pages he commits his words. Some rappers boast of money that lasts
three lifetimes; Scribe has three lifetimes worth of stories and took
the time to tell his second chapter the right way.
"I'm not trying to be a millionaire, trying to write songs all
the time and keep my name out there. I just let my art take its time
- I don't think it's something you can force. Words have weight for
me".
From the high drama of 'Til The Day' to the string-laced title track
'Rhyme Book', 'Every verse, every flow, Every lyric is true', every
bar honed to its essence. Scribe dips into four years of the highs
and lows of 'The Crusader' and back in time to a life where hip hop
music was an only escape. From there he looks outwards, ready to recapture
the hearts and minds of an international audience. Brizzy and Wollongong
now roll off Scribe's million dollar tongue like his home town did
on his debut. This time round, Scribe's voice is the choice of a generation
and he has stepped up to speak to it. Expect to hear references to
Paris, New York and London pepper his third album - the world is in
Scribe's sights.
'Rhyme Book' is out now.
